


To Brave the Dark

by Prodigalsan



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxious behavior, Basically they support each other okay, Gen, I don't even know how this story's going to turn out, I don't know what to call this, Movie 1: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Spoilers, Not-So-Imaginary Friend AU?, Other, Possible slash but not between Credence and Harry, Supportive Credence, Supportive Harry, You have to watch the movie to fully appreciate this, like ew no
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-09-06 16:39:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8760859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prodigalsan/pseuds/Prodigalsan
Summary: Credence remembers what it felt like to want love but not receive it. To feel pain and fear instead. He remembers it so profoundly that his thin form quivers, tongues of black surrounding him, and he is possessed by an intense need to curl his hands close to himself, no, mum, please no—“Hullo.”His willowy form stills, and the black tendrils disappear. He turns around slowly, and he finds vibrant green eyes staring up at him.--Basically my attempt to write a Credence and Harry friendship fic. God help me.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Uh, so, I dunno what this is. It was just a random idea I came up with after watching Fantastic Beasts for the nth time and eating sushi. Lol IKR really random, but I just sort-of wanted to know what it would be like if Credence somehow managed to survive (based on that teasing frame where a sliver of black comes out of the subway) and had drifted far and long enough to meet Harry. And be friends. Because I'm a sucker for sappy stories like this and whY DID THEY HAVE TO DO THAT TO CREDENCE FUCKING--
> 
> Ahem. Well. This is just the first chapter so no big expectations yet, yeah?  
> \--  
>  **Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, or any other related titles. I'm just a poor student who's using fanfiction-writing to procrastinate and avoid studying for finals HAHAHA

_When I was a child_

_There were flowers that bloomed in the night_

_Unafraid to take in the light_

_Unashamed to have braved the dark_

_\- Susan Boyle, “Who Was I Born to Be”_

 

* * *

 

The first few months of drifting, there is no awareness. There is no consciousness, no sentience. There’s just... _is._ And that heavy, yet hollow feeling that he carries with him everywhere he goes. A few months later, he understands that the feeling is sadness. Grief. Hurt.

It takes Credence three years to remember his own name.

 

* * *

 

He starts remembering colors, and things related to those colors. He looks down and sees a sea of green— _grass_ , the word pops out of nowhere and it startles him. Other words come out in quick succession: trees, bushes, and all of a sudden _ocean_. Credence admires the blanket of blue below him. He remembers other things that could be blue: birds, flowers, the sky—his wispy form jerks.

He suddenly realizes that he’s flying.

 

* * *

 

It takes a while, he’s sure, but Credence eventually understands that he is drifting aimlessly about. He just doesn’t know exactly how long. Or where to, or even how come. He just knows that he is. Despite the uncertainty of not knowing, he does nothing to stop the wind from taking him from place to place.

A part of him tells him that there are certain things better off not known, and he is surprised to find that he agrees.

 

* * *

 

Credence feels he can start drifting much lower than usual. The clouds are good company, of course. He doesn’t mean to sound like he doesn’t appreciate them. But a black wisp amongst clouds, no matter how small, is like a dot on a piece of paper: out of place. He doesn’t belong here. So he starts going down, down, down...

Down...

Down...

Down...

Dow—

A series of bright lights suddenly shoot in the sky, and flocks of owls fly into the night. Credence decides to stick with the clouds a little longer.

 

* * *

 

He finally drifts down to the ground on a dark, cloudy afternoon. At least, he believes it’s afternoon. Credence has remembered several different concepts over the years: time, space, matter. He even remembers that he had been human once, and he discreetly watches two-legged beings cross busy streets and into large buildings. He sees small people, children, and he watches one of them stand in front of a small shop handing out flyers—

Credence wails and retreats into an open manhole.

 

* * *

 

The memories slowly start coming back after that. Starting from the earliest, but foggiest memory he has: a kind, but sickly woman, barely well enough to tend to a small child, smiles at him and tells him that he is special. Then another woman appears through the fog, dispersing images of that woman. She takes him in, face fashioned to look just as kind. But then a belt whips that image out of his mind.

Credence cuts the memory off and wails, and his wispy form grows and grows. He crashes into walls and pipes without a care in the world. He stops after a while, and he crouches near a wall and whimpers, holding his hands close to his body.

He freezes and looks down. _Hands_?

 

* * *

 

After taking the time to calm down, Credence nervously walks among the people in the city he realizes is London. He’s heard about London before, but not much. All he knows is that one takes a ferry to get there from New York, and that it’s _very far_ from the United States. He knows that from the limited schooling he had received from his mu— _that woman_. He lets out a pathetic whimper at the memory of her blank, but scary face, and he hangs his head in shame because he knows people are staring at him weirdly.

Everything about Credence is strange. From his shabby clothes that are inappropriate for the cold weather to his pitiful sniveling, he knows he looks like some sort of rag-a-muffin. But Credence finds _them_ strange as well. The fashion is unfamiliar, and strange automobiles litter the streets. And is that—he approaches a shop window and stares at a large box with a screen showing colors and people. He’s only heard about television, but he never expected it to be this—

“ _Oh_ , so sorry, sir!” A child carrying newspapers bumps into him. Well, he _had_ been before bumping into Credence.

“I-It’s fine.” he finds himself saying, momentarily shocked that he has a voice. He bends down to help the child pick up the scattered newspapers, and he looks at a page advertising some type of horror show. He looks at the date printed at the top and gapes.

_February 16, 1989._

 

* * *

 

He doesn’t understand.

Credence walks aimlessly around, head bowed low and brow furrowed. He’s far from London now, but he has no idea which town he has wandered into. He hears children happily skipping past him, but he doesn’t listen. He doesn’t care.

He doesn’t _understand_.

His memories are still foggy and disorienting, but he _distinctly_ remembers looking at a calendar in the chapel and noting that November was ending soon. And the calendar was dated _1926_. Unless the newspaper he recently saw was lying, he is currently in London in 1989.

But that’s im _possible_. There’s no way he had been drifting that long, that far. Right?

“Where the heck am I?” he says to himself as he looks at a building nearby. From what he can tell, it’s a school, and he approaches the fence and watches the children play amongst themselves with a wistful smile on his face. They look so _happy_.

“ _Potter_!”

Except for one.

 

* * *

 

Harry Potter shouldn’t have let his guard down. He _knows_ Dudley and his gang are out to get him, and the empty classroom during recess is the safest place to be, but he braves venturing out into the playground anyway. He reasons that he wants fresh air, is all. The cold, dry air should have been enough to deter him and force him back inside the building. But no. Harry convinces himself that it’s fine. And pretty soon he realizes just how stupid he is.

“Potter, get _back_ here, you freak!”

Harry pants and runs from his cousin and his gang, fully aware that pretty soon he will succumb to the exhaustion and have to endure the punches and the kicks like he usually does. But today he is possessed with the desire to _get away_. Get away from his cousin, escape the beating. If he’s lucky, his stupid oaf of a cousin will attract the attention of a teacher and save him.

He reaches the kitchen building and desperately looks for a window that he can open. He tries opening one, but the cold has numbed his hands to the point of near uselessness. He looks over his shoulder and sees his cousin running towards him, and he runs around the corner of the building.

Harry sees the dumpster, and his hope dwindles.

“You can’t run away forever, Potter!”

The taunt launches him to become desperate, and he jumps on top of the trash can and the large dumpster. He sees the edge of the roof and suddenly thinks _jump_ , and he closes his eyes and springs into the air, hand reaching out. He gasps when he feels another hand curling around his, and he opens his eyes to see a cloud of black—

A moment later, Harry Potter finds himself sitting on the chimney. Dudley, his gang— _everyone_ is shocked. Harry most of all.

**Author's Note:**

> Haha. Well. Harry _did_ mention something about a wind catching him mid-jump (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone). So I shamelessly used that idea. Lol creative, I know.
> 
> WELL. This chapter was sort-of like a test to see if people would find this idea interesting. Please let me know what you think, and while I am aware that Credence surviving that long is unlikely, I'd like to ask you to bear with me as I try to come up with a reasonable explanation for it. But well, what do we know about Obscurials anyway? Not much. /shrugs
> 
> I still have _no_ idea where this story is going, but I guess that's the thrill of it. I'm more than happy to receive suggestions, though. But I'm hoping to make this GEN. But one thing's for sure: Credence and Harry won't be paired up for this fic. Because why
> 
> Thanks for taking the time to read. :) Happy holidays!


End file.
